Thanks, everyone, for your time and suggestions. The error listed in Device Mgr "This device is disabled because the BIOS for this device did not give it an IRQ..." (Code 29.)" I finally found what I think are the drivers for the motherboard (SE44BX) at the Intel site. I downloaded the file and tried to make the boot disk, but got an error message that "ULIB.DLL" was missing. I found and downloaded the file (placing it in C:\WINDOWS with all of the other .dlls). I ran the mkboot.bat file and then got a different error message. This message said "Thie ULIB.DLL file is linked to missing export NTDLL.DLL: NtDelayExecution." I don't understand why a WIN98SE system would need a WIN NT file, but I found it online and downloaded. I put a copy in C:\windows, C:\windows\system and in C:\windows\system32. I ran the mkboot.bat file again and got the same error about ULIB.DLL being linked to the the NTDLL.DLL file. Next, I did a manual copy of the motherboard files to a floppy and tried a reboot. The PC just hung after it checked the floppy disk (the screen was black with just the underscore blinking in the upper left). I left the system alone for 10 minutes. Nothing happened. I popped the floppy out and rebooted in Normal mode. At this point I seem to be stuck. I can't get the boot disk made so I can re-install the drivers for the motherboard. Any suggestions? I have yet to try removing one memory chip. I think I'll do that next seem it seems to be all I can do at the moment. I did some searching at the MS site and find an article about this issue, but it didn't have a file fix, just a work around. It did say that not all systems had a problem. I've never had an of the error messages listed in the article or any problems with applications giving me error messages about a lack of memory. Next, while in Normal mode I tried replacing the INtel PCI driver with the Windows driver. This worked okay. I rebooted into Normal mode and checked the Device Mgr. The same error message (Code 29) was there. Again, many thanks for the help. Scott

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Here's the chipset drivers. Download #2. Just run the downloaded file and it will install the drivers. You don't need to install using a bootdisk.

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DAVEINCAPS, Thanks for the link!!! Thanks for your help! I downloaded the file, installed it, but......Crud!, no dice! After all of the "new hardware found" messages and installs, I checked the device mgr and the same intel 82371AB/EB PCI bus master IDE controller error (code 29, BIOS IRQ error) appeared..... Drats!!! I welcome any suggestions. Many thanks to everyone who has helped with this problem. Regards, Scott

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I notice from the screen image of device manager that you've got quite a few additional hardware items. That may be why windows thinks the IDE controller doesn't have an IRQ. They should be using IRQs 14 and 15. You can double click on the top computer line in device manager and it will show you how the IRQs are used. If you're not using the onboard serial ports or the onboard parallel port you can disable them in your cmos/bios setup to free up those IRQs. You might also check in cmos/bios setup to see if there's any way you can change the IRQ assignment that may allow the IDE controller to have its own IRQ. In cmos, if you have a 'PnP OS' option you may want to toggle it. Disabling that gives windows more leeway in assigning resources.

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Thanks again for the help. I've updated my documentation page at http://www.xprt.net/~1911colt/Images/Misc/ide_doc.html with all the details of my latest attempts and included screen shots. I checked the CMOS settings: Advanced PnP O/S: no Reset configuration date: no numlock: auto Peripheral Configuration Serial Port A: auto Parallel Port: auto mode: bi-directional Legacy USB supprt: enabled IDE Configuration Primary IDE Controller: Both Primary IDE master controller: none Primary IDE slave controller: none Secondary IDE master controller: none Secondary IDE slave controller: none Primary IDE master settings (slave settings are identical) Type: auto Multi-sector transfers: disabled LBA Mode control: disabled Transfer Mode: standard Ultra DMA: disabled Secondary IDE master settings (slave settings are identical) Type: auto Multi-sector transfers: disabled LBA Mode control: disabled Transfer Mode: standard Ultra DMA: disabled Resource Configuration IRQ3 available IRQ4 available IRQ5 reserved IRQ7 available IRQ10 available IRQ11 available I didn't change anything in the CMOS. Looked again at the IDE controller in Device Mgr. Selected the Resource tab under Properties and looked at the I/O range. The automatic setting for the I/O range (0000-000F) was in conflict with the DMA controller. I changed the I/O range to 0010-001F where it did not conflict with any device. I re-booted into Normal mode. No effect. Next, I looked at the Properties of the Computer via the Device Mgr (see pics at http://www.xprt.net/~1911colt/Images/Misc/ide_doc.html) and looked at the IRQs. IRQ14 and 15 were not listed. Next, I looked at all of the devices in the Dv Mgr (see pics of the entire Dv Mgr list (expanded) at http://www.xprt.net/~1911colt/ide_problem.html I've often thought that there were more devices listed that I actually have, but didn't want to mess with something that wasn't broken. I didn't feel knowledgeable enough to make changes, but certainly welcome any ideas related to disabling some. Here are the devices I do have: a SCSI scanner, a USB printer with built-in memory card reader, a USB keyboard, an Ultra 66 Hard Disk, and the two CDs that I'm trying to get recognized. Then I looked at the IDE channel settings in Device Mgr. It was set to "Default". I changed it to "Both IDE Channels Enabled". I re-booted into Normal mode. Changing the IDE channel settings got rid of the BIOS error msg (Code 29). However, the primary and secondary IDE controllers (dual fifo) do not appear. (see safe mode view of Device Mgr at http://www.xprt.net/~1911colt/Images/Misc/dv_mgr_safe_mode.jpg). When I looked at Windows Explorer it does not show either of the CD drives (see pic below). So, at least I've gotten rid of the BIOS code 29 error, but the two CD drives are not "seen" by windows explorer. Do I want to leave the IDE channel settings as "Both"? Any suggestions for the next step are greatly appreciated. Thanks again, Scott

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I think these should be set to AUTO: Primary IDE master controller: none Primary IDE slave controller: none Secondary IDE master controller: none Secondary IDE slave controller: none The manual for your motherboard should help with the correct cmos settings. If you don't have it you should be able to download it from Dell. I misspoke above when I said 'Disabling [the PnP OS option] gives windows more leeway in assigning resources'. Actually enabling that will give windows more leeway. Your link indicates that when booting from a bootdisk the cdrom devices are not recognized. If a bootdisk doesn't see them, windows won't either. If that's still a problem it's either the controllers set to NONE as mentioned above, the cdrom jumper or the cabling or power connections. IRQs 14 and 15 should be listed in device manager. I'd suspect cmos controller settings there too. Post back the number on the service tag on the back of your computer. That way I can look it up and check the cmos settings.

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Many thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm getting a little bleary eyed..... es4u8 is the service tag. I'll try enabling the PnP and setting the IDEs to AUTO in CMOS. I do have a DELL troublingshooting guide with info on the CMOS settings. I looked at the properties of the Computer in Dv Mgr since solving the Code 29 error and it nows lists IRQ14 and 15 with several devices sharing them. Thanks again, Scott

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Okay, back again....... I rebooted, got into CMOS, enabled PnP OS, looked at the settings for the IDE controllers. The listing below is not something I can edit. It is where, if a drive is detected, it is displayed. I can change the Primary IDE controller setting (it's set to "Both"). Settings as displayed in CMOS --------------------------- Primary IDE Controller: Both Primary IDE master controller: none Primary IDE slave controller: none Secondary IDE master controller: none Secondary IDE slave controller: none I can highlight each of the sub-controllers (master, slave) and enter the setup for their settings. In each area for they are set to "Auto". Settings as displayed in CMOS --------------------------- Primary IDE master settings (slave settings are identical) Type: auto Multi-sector transfers: disabled LBA Mode control: disabled Transfer Mode: standard Ultra DMA: disabled -------------------------- I rebooted into Normal mode. Each of the drives cycles through its startup (the lights flash and I can open them). I've looked at the cables (each drive has its own cable) and checked their connection to each drive and to the motherboard. They seem to be firm and secure. Apparently, everything is set okay, but the drives are being "seen". Perhaps the next step is to buy a new cable and try it? It seems unlikely that both cables would fail at the same time. I guess that could mean that there is a physical problem with the socket/connection on the motherboard itself???? I probably won't be able to do anything more with this beast until after Christmas..... but I'll check in. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Many thanks for everyone's help. Merry Christmas. Scott

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I'll check dell's site for the hardware associated with that service tag and maybe download a manual. I probably have a similar dell I can fire up to see what the cmos looks like. I pretty busy too so it may be a few days before I can check those things. You mentioned you have 2 cdrom devices. With a HD that's at least 3 IDE devices. You also mention each has its own cable. Do you perhaps have an ATA card also or an additional IDE motherboard connections? Otherwise I don't understand how each has its own cable. Since you've corrected the original error message, are there any other errors showing in device manager? Is the problem now just that the cdroms don't show in explorer? If so, click the 'performance' tab in 'system' in control panel and see if they're running in msdos compatibility mode.

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Thanks for the reply, I have a Promise Technology Inc. Ultra66 IDE Controller card for the HD. Each CD has its own cable and they both connect right next to each other on the motherboard. I expanded the Device Mgr entries and did screen shots. I don't know if this will be more helpful, but they are at http://www.xprt.net/~1911colt/ide_problem.html. Also, full system info via Belarc Advisor is at http://www.xprt.net/~1911colt/Images/Misc/my_system_info.html. No other error messages appear in Device Mgr. It seems that the only problem is that the CDs don't appear in WIN explorer. From reading about CMOS, it appears that the CDs aren't being "seen" by the CMOS since no info is displayed at the "Advanced" CMOS screen. I checked the performance tab and the last line is "Your system is configured for optimal performance". No mention of MSDOS compatibility mode. I can't thank you enough for all of the help. I'd sure lost without the ideas and help. Many thanks, Scott

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If you boot with a bootdisk, choose cdrom support and the cdroms aren't seen then it's not a windows problem. If that's still the case (and since device manager still shows a problem with the controller) I'd think it's either a cmos setting or the controller is bad. I'll try to check the manual to see if I can figure out what the problem may be. As far as I know the Promise controller shouldn't interfere with the on-board controller.

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This still going! It seems to me that if all is well in safe mode but not in normal mode, something is loading that upsets the drivers or disables them. It is highly likely that some form of malware might be in control. Try shutting down programs using CTRL-ALT-DELETE. Don't touch Explorer.exe and you should leave systray running. Then check your device manager. I see lots of documentation but no mention of anti-virus or other malware tools. Please post back with this info.

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Hi Everyone, Thanks for the continuing help with this problem. Just now back home and able to resume. I am running Norton anti-virus 2003, Webwasher Classic, and Sygate's Personal Firewall Pro. Rimfire, I'll try your shutdown suggestion. Thanks, Scott

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Welcome back Scott, My last suggestion was based on partially reading your posts. I don't think it would help. I was thinking along the lines that malware had effected your system. Still when all is working it would be worth getting Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware. You have provided too much information and it s rather overwhelming. You need to install the drivers specific to your motherboard not just chipset generic. These come from Dell. Try enabling all the IDE features in BIOS. LBA is required to see the entire CD/DVD. Ultra DMA is also helpful. Remember, you first need to be able to see devices in BIOS before any operating system can use them.

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Rimfire, Many thanks for the assistance. I tried the reboot method you suggested. No effect. I have Spybot and Ad Aware and run them at least once a week. They have not detect any "junk" since I first ran them about one year ago. Sorry about the info overload. I will return to Dell's site and resume hunting for the specific drivers. I will try your BIOS enabling suggestions and post back. Once again, thanks to everyone for all of the help. Scott

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I'm getting the feeling that the IDE controller is bad. If so, I don't suppose this is something that can replaced? Am I correct in thinking that it is an integral part of the motherboard and that it can't be replaced/repaired without replacing the entire motherboard? I went into CMOS setup and changed only the settings for the Primary and Seconday IDE controllers to "CDROM". This had no effect. I seem to be at the end of my troubleshooting period. Any thoughts? Many thanks for everyone's help with this. Regards, Scott

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I hard to keep track of what's already been tried. The chipset update didn't help. Neither did enabling PnP OS in cmos. They're not in msdos compatibility mode. What other items are sharing IRQs 14 and 15? Run regedit and do a search for NOIDE. Delete any references you find. You can also run regedit, open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and delete the ENUM key. This removes all the hardware settings. When windows reboots it will need to reinstall all the drivers. So you'll need the 98 cd and drivers for the added hardware. If you do that it would be a good idea to copy the .cab files from the win98 folder on the 98 cd into a similarly named folder on your hard drive. That way if windows can't access the cdrom you can direct it to the hard drive location for files it needs. Deleting ENUM is kind of a last resort so make sure you have all the disks you need beforehand.

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IRQ14 and 15 are not now listed. They were visible just after solving the 'yellow exclamation mark' error discussed earlier during the troubleshooting. I checked for NOIDE as part of my original research at the beginning of my troubleshooting and didn't find it. I checked again just now without finding it. If I do the ENUM, but can't access either CDROM won't that put me in a bit of a spot? Since my PC is more than 5 years old, but still meets my needs (i.e. I don't need to replace it or put alot of $$ into it), I'm wondering if I wouln't be better off returning the two internal CD drives and getting two external USB drives. Two external USB drives are just a little more than the two internal drives and while it wouldn't solve the IDE controller problem it would give me the dual CDs I need. Thanks again for all of the help. Scott

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If you copy the .cab files to your hard drive before you reboot then it can find what it needs there. When it asks you to insert the 98 cd, click OK. It'll say it can't find whatever it's looking for and ask where else to search for it. Enter c:\win98 (or whatever folder you copied the files to) and it'll search that folder just as if it was searching the 98 cd. If you can't copy the files in windows you should be able to do it in dos. Boot with a bootdisk, choose cdrom support. Put the 98 cd in the cdrom. At the prompt type: md c:\win98 and enter. Then type: copy e:\win98\*.* c:\win98 and enter, where e: is your cdrom drive letter. Most bootdisks temporarily change the drive letter of the cdrom. That last few lines that load before the final a:\> prompt when booting will tell you the drive letter. You may want to reboot to windows before removing ENUM to verify the folder and it's contents are there. If you can't get the files copied even from dos then obviously don't do the ENUM thing. But if that's the case then the problem isn't in windows anyway.

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I have tried booting with the WIN98 startup disk with CDROM support. I was unable to get it to boot with CDROM support. I recall seeing a message to the effect that no CDROM was detected and finally that "no valid CDROM drivers were loaded". I just double-checked the jumper settings (I rebooted and tried 'cable select' and master --since each CD drive has its own separate cable to the motherboard I didn't try 'slave') and re-booted each time. I also tried specifying in CMOS the Primary and Secondary IDE Masters as a 'CDROM' and enabled all of the sub-categories. I rebooted. None of this had any effect. Scott

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The bootdisk should see the cdrom OK when cmos is set for AUTO, CDROM and even NONE, as long as the controllers are enabled. I assume you have a regular IDE cdrom but you may want to post back its model number. If you haven't done so already, try a different cdrom cable. You may want to temporarily remove the Promise card and then boot with the bootdisk to see if the cdroms are recognized. If so you'll know there's some kind of conflict there. In that case moving the card to another slot sometimes helps.

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Thank you to everyone who has given so generously of their knowledge and time in helping me with this matter. I greatly appreciate it. I think I've reached the end of my troubleshooting activities. I think the problem is the controller itself. I also have less time now to work on the matter and I'm concerned that I am getting to a point where I may goof something up and not be able to use the PC at all. Since the PC is too old to spend any more money on it I think I'll do a work-around by using USB CDRWs. I did try a new cable with the CDROMs without any effect. Again, many thanks for all of the help. Regards, Scott

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You're welcome. I hope you get the USB ones going.

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